Conan in, Van der Flier out as Ireland team to play Scotland named

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Jack Conan has been named in a much-changed Ireland team to play Scotland in the Guinness Six Nations this weekend, with Josh van der Flier dropping to the bench.

The Wicklow-native number eight comes in for the injured CJ Stander, as Joe Schmidt makes five changes to the team that was beaten by England at the Aviva Stadium last weekend, with four coming as a result of injuries sustained.

Connacht’s Quinn Roux comes into the second-row for the injured Devin Toner, while Garry Ringrose drops out of the team due to a hamstring strain, to be replaced by Chris Farrell in his first championship start.

Meanwhile, Rob Kearney returns to full-back for the trip to Murrayfield in the place of Robbie Henshaw, who withdraws due to a dead-leg.

In the other change for Saturday, Josh van der Flier has been named on the bench, with Seán O’Brien coming in at openside flanker.

The rest of the team remains unchanged. Jacob Stockdale and Keith Earls retain their places on the wings, while Johnny Sexton and Conor Murray come back into the half-backs.

Peter O’Mahony maintains his place at blindside, while Rory Best, Cian Healy, and Tadhg Furlong return to the front-row.